Score: Nazareth College 78, Elmira College 45
Records: Nazareth (10-6, 4-3 E8), Elmira (3-13, 1-6 E8)
Location: Elmira, N.Y. - Speidel Gymnasium

ELMIRA, N.Y. -- The Elmira College men's basketball team got off to a slow start in Tuesday night's Empire 8 Conference bout with the visiting Golden Flyers and was unable to gain its footing, as the Soaring Eagles were defeated by Nazareth College, 78-45.

Elmira was unable to capitalize its early possessions and opened the game scoreless in the first five-plus minutes. The Soaring Eagles started 0-for-8 from the field until Matt Davis '17 halted the drought with a lay-in at the 14:21 mark. Meanwhile, Naz netted 10 unanswered points to start the game. The run ended with a 3-pointer from Cody Green, and he would drain another less than two minutes later to extend the advantage to 15 points at 17-2. Daniel Jacob then joined in the action from beyond the arc with a pair of treys for the Golden Flyers, the latter giving Nazareth a 28-9 cushion.

That lead would swell to as many as 24 points in the first half, and EC entered the locker room at halftime down 38-17 thanks mostly in part to a subpar 17.9 first-half field goal percentage (5-of-28). The Soaring Eagles shot better in the second half, 39.1 percent (9-of-23), but so did the Golden Flyers, who made 54.2 percent (13-of-24) of their attempts in the final 20 minutes of action.

Adam Park '18, Jesse Adelson '20, and Justin Porrett '19 combined to score 22 of Elmira's 28 points in the second half. Park, who tallied a season-high eight points in just nine minutes off of the bench, provided a spark with back-to-back layups in a span of 23 seconds. Porrett picked up eight of his team-leading 11 points in the period, and Adelson would net EC's only successful 3-pointer in the second half.

Turning Point
The early struggles from the Soaring Eagles provided an ominous look at what was to come for the remainder of Tuesday night's contest. Not only were the Purple and Gold held off of the scoreboard for the first five-and-a-half minutes, EC had only two points on the board through the first eight minutes of action. By that point, the visitors had built a 15-point lead and remained in control through the final whistle.

Inside the Box Score

• The Soaring Eagles shot 14-for-51 (27.5 percent) from the floor.
• Naz finished 25-for-50 (50.0 percent) from the field.
• EC hit a mere 2-of-15 (13.3 percent) 3-point attempts.
• Both teams performed well at the free throw line, as EC went 15-for-16 (93.8%) and the Golden Flyers shot 23-for-32 (71.9%).
• Nazareth out-rebounded the Soaring Eagles, 38-31.
• EC held a 6-to-4 advantage in steals and a 4-to-2 lead in blocks.
• Porrett finished as Elmira's only double-digit scorer with 11.
• Porrett also dished out a game-high-tying four dimes.
• Park was second on the team with eight points and was a perfect 3-for-3 from the field.
• Adelson scored six points, all in the second half, to go along with a team-high five rebounds.
• Naz's Tyler Stenglein led all scorers with 24 points.
• Stenglein also grabbed a game-high nine boards for the Golden Flyers.

News and Notes

• The Soaring Eagles are now 3-13 on the season and 1-6 inside Empire 8 play.
• EC's 45 points mark a season low.
• Elmira's 93.8 free throw percentage is its highest rate from the charity stripe this season.
• Four blocks are a season high for the Soaring Eagles.
• Six steals are tied for the second-most that Elmira has recorded in a game this year.
• Park's eight points are a new season high for the first-year Soaring Eagle.
• Adelson's five boards tied his previous career-high mark.
• Porrett scored double-digit points for the ninth time this season.
• Porrett tied his season best with a trio of steals.

Up Next
The Soaring Eagles will get a few days of rest before they travel to face Hartwick College on Saturday, January 28th. The game is scheduled to start at 4:00 p.m.